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Saturday, February 28, 2015

last night we celebrated 50 with this amazing man. so lucky to call my friend. his honesty and thoughtfulness have taught me so much. love you jt xo

a rare day off from the ranch (our beloved instructors are at a clinic with charles de knuffy)
so a chance to get the girls to deep clean their rooms!
a storm on the way
a hair appointment
bookclub (The Girl on the Train)

Thursday, February 26, 2015

from the series:
In Our Time, 1969-70
screen print on paper
copyright R.B. Kitaj Estate

on the advice of (more than) a few, i've started social media accounts related to what I'm working on. I do believe there is a whole new generation that could fall in love with his work. I saw it happening in Berlin. and I hope for more of the same, next month in Amsterdam.

Saturday, February 21, 2015

it is becoming increasingly apparent that with horse "ownership" our weekends are spent at the ranch. no complaints. just a shift in getting things done. a more concentrated effort required. and a move to mondays for my weekly clean.

Thursday, February 19, 2015

i had the honor to sit in on an oral history interview a friend recently did with one of my eldest neighbors. i had posted something june said to me, on one of her early evening walks past our house, driving her walker, and with her caregiver at her side on Facebook and it caught erica's eye. she was intrigued, and conveniently was planning a visit to L.A. from her new temporary home in NY, where she is working towards an Oral History Master of Arts degree at Columbia.

June tells the best stories. the best. i am always thrilled to visit with her and to hear about her life.

born in 1922, she moved here as a child, growing up in Hollywood, then moving to Westwood and finally to the SFV. on that quiet friday with Erica, she told stories of attending the 1932 Olympic Games as a 10 year old. (equestrian and aquatic events.) how it was the depression, so there were very few spectators, and very few athletes. how she took public transportation to get there. she told stories of growing up in Hollywood - the Hollywood of the 1930s - and spending all day exploring on her homemade pushcart with her sister leading the way. she told stories of a job at a "five and dime" in hollywood where many movie stars shopped. she told stories about being a young woman studying at UCLA for an MS degree in Physical Education (now the university's kinesiology department) when it was still separate divisions for men and women (this practice wasn't eliminated until 1952) and where she met her husband. she told us how she almost made it to the olympics (1940) but then couldn't because of the war. how back then, you only had one chance to go to the olympics. she told stories of performing as a synchronized swimmer and comedic diver with esteemed aquatic groups (such as the mercury mermaids) at glamorous hotels including the biltmore and ambassador, back when this was a popular form of entertainment. she told us about esther williams shining star. she told stories of their little house in westwood, when they were both UCLA faculty. and how they lived across the street from one of ernest hemingway's sons. but never met the great man. she shared her life philosophies and the value she puts in physical fitness. she told stories of moving to the valley, and to the house they are now in. she told of visiting over 42 countries in her lifetime. and how a teeny tiny harmonica saved their life in egypt. she told stories of our neighborhood, a place she has called home for more than half her years. (and I'll commit more of those stories to memory here soon.)

at the end she asked her daughter to get her teeny tiny harmonica, and played us a song. she said, "I was never that distinguished... I was too busy having a good time."

i hope that I am never that distinguished.

june december 19, 2014 age 92

this project also inspired me to schedule visits with more of my neighbors. many original, or near original owners. i want to know their stories too.

Tuesday, February 17, 2015

I can still feel his hand on my shoulder: when K picks up a deck of cards; when I walk the shore of Galiano with my mom; when a certain song comes on the radio; when we pull out of the driveway for a road trip; when E smiles that smile; when we gather with our neighbors; when out for a walk and a stranger smiles and says hello. xo

Thursday, February 12, 2015

I'm back in NY for the CAA conference. it is inspiring to be back in a lecture hall and listening to people excited about what they are doing. (I'm here for the catalogue raisonne sessions in particular, along with digital publishing.) it is another quick trip, but i've also had the opportunity to visit with my niece (aunt bragging rights being pulled here - she is now working as a "product manager" at New York Magazine) as well as good friends.

today took me from one studying at NYU - and a coffee shop near Washington Square - to the upper east side - and the premier of the (wonderful!) documentary, maira kalman: my favorite things, a film by gael towey*, as well as the fantastic exhibition that inspired it, all at the newly reopened Cooper Hewitt. (go!) highlight - abe lincoln's pocket watch and the story of its hidden message, and sitting behind martha stewart (!).

tomorrow, one more conference session, then back to my peeps. (and to scheme of bringing them here with me soon!)

*click on the link and see the film! now on the smithsonian channel website.

Saturday, February 07, 2015

*i spend a lot of time working at our dining room table. while the bulk of files etc. are housed in our shed office, active items often get regulated to one section of our "fauxdenza". (where they sometimes become inactive!) additionally, i have two file boxes of public eduction and home and cottage inspiration files in my bedroom closet. i'm reading this book right now - and feeling the need to really asses what i'm holding onto. taking her lead, i've been cleaning by category, not room. papers is the task this weekend. my january cure aspirations included this - but alas, i let it slide into february. paper is my bane. wish me luck.

all we know for sure is that it needs to be high enough to come over the shoulder. it is a tight corner, and the wall mounted option appeals in that sense, but i'm not convinced we want something else, aside from d's painting, on that wall.

*and so funny to look back at these (almost exactly 9 years old!) pictures and note how much (and how little) this corner has changed. new window. new paint. same beloved chair and little table d made all those years ago...